Duds of 2008: Part Six

Here are a handful of albums that hardly deserve a full-length review. Duds consist of albums that have received a rating of two stars or less.

Recovery (2008, Yep Roc) Loudon Wainwright's nineteenth studio album. **

Loudon isn't bad, he's just cheesy. It's not the music that screws him, it's his own clumsy lyrics that rarely prove to be insightful or funny and instead come off simply bland.

Red Letter Year (2008, Righteous Babe) Ani DiFranco's seventeenth studio album. **

DiFranco has banked on her lyrics over her music time and time again. While fans may soak it up, the routine is quickly a tired one. Her political sights are few and far between and her love songs aren't believable.

Clouded Staircase (2008, Bar/None) Starling Electric's first studio album. **

Clouded Staircase plays more like an extensive demo tape than an album; eighteen songs who average at about two to two and a half minutes. These guys have talent, but this finds them scrambling to be an updated and less enthusiastic version of the Beatles.